Music Video Analysis Questions

What are the songs about?

Burn The Witch - This song has been interpreted in many ways by listeners and critics. The animator behind the video, Virpi Kettu, discussed the motives behind “Burn the Witch”. Interestingly, she believes the video was intended to be happier than the song. “They wanted the video to contrast with what they’re playing and to wake people up a bit,” Kettu explained. Kettu also said that the band wanted the video to raise awareness about Europe’s refugee crisis and the “blaming of different people including the blaming of Muslims and the negativity” currently engulfing European politics. 
I understand where this interpretation has come from as the people of the town are not accepting the 'new' inspector, similar to the way people are turning away the refugees. I see the video as a reflection on the current situation in the U.S, having Donald Trump being elected as president and his extreme views are being showcased throughout this video.

Unfinished Sympathy is about an unfinished relationship. A relationship that started, but ended with the partner pulling away, leaving her wanting more and thinking about what could have been. 'Like a soul without a mind'. 

What message or messages do they convey to the audience?

The message in Burn The Witch is a warning to people about what the world with right-wing politics in charge would be like. Especially opposing immigration, which is represented in the video with the inspector being treated differently and forced into going inside the wickerman and being burnt alive.

Unfinished Sympathy describes the feelings of what it is like to be suddenly left alone from a potential lover, hoping that the audience can relate through their own experiences and have similar feelings towards their situation.  

How have the artists been represented in their respective videos?

In the video for Unfinished Sympathy, Shara Nelson is the main subject of the video, as she walks down the street. Throughout the video, all the members of Massive Attack (at the time) are seen in the background. They all pop up one after another going down the same street. 

However, in the video for Burn The Witch, no member of the band is in the video as they use a 'Trumptonshire trilogy', stop motion animation style instead.   

Why have they been represented in such a way?

I believe Radiohead wanted the audience's focus to be on the lyrics, video and meaning rather than themselves, because for this song it is more important that the audience receive a message about the world they live in.

Massive Attack has Shara Nelson as the focus as she is the main voice of the song, and the rest of the group pop up in the background which could represent how they each had some kind of contribution to the song.

Do the videos represent the artists successfully?

I believe Massive Attack is represented successfully as they are not portrayed in a bad way and instead are shown as normal people. Other than Shara Nelson, the members are seen in the background, however people wouldn't have known this unless you knew what they looked like. 

I also believe Radiohead is represented successfully as it shows their creativity and confidence to speak up about a their views. It also keeps with their alternative style they have built up over the years.

What styles of filmmaking have been used? Why utilise such styles?

For Burn The Witch, they used they used a stop motion, 1960's children's programme style, extremely similar to that of that of the Trumptonshire Trilogy. It would have been a show that the band would have seen when they were children. The show itself is very innocent and so they used this to contrast with the dark and twisted lyrics and story used in the video.  

Unfinished Sympathy is a one shot video, which can be hard to pull off. The one shot follows Shara Nelson walking down a street. I believe they used this technique to give the video a raw feeling. Because of the lack of editing, like jump cuts and other transitions, it makes the video seem real as if none of it was set up and that it would be the same even if they weren't filming.  

Why does the Radiohead video reference Trumpton and The Wickerman?

Radiohead use Trumpton for contrast on the lyrics and meaning to their song, and some people have interpreted that it is similar to that of the then newly eleceted president, Donald Trump, which would support the political meanings behind the song.

How and why has 'the street' been used in the Massive Attack Video?

The street is used to represent them as a group and the style of music they create. Both come from the streets and have a street edge about them. It would also be where the music is made and mostly listened to as well. 

Do the visuals work well with the musical and lyrical content?

For Burn The Witch, the visuals are the complete opposite to the lyrics but the video becomes more and more dark, which is a contrast to the innocent stop motion style and so it does work well.

The visuals for Unfinished Sympathy does work well with the music as they are both in the streets and has a lot of 'rawness' to it. However, the lyrics are similar to that of a love song and don't really match, but they mixed it in in a way which works well.

What 'pleasure' does the audience get from each video? Consider fans of the artists in question.

For Radiohead, their fans will always be interested in the meanings behind their videos and songs as that is what they are known for, so when they see Burn The Witch, a video which seems so innocent but becomes so twisted, they will gain pleasure by trying to uncover the meaning behind it all.

The audience for Massive Attack will be mostly from the streets like them, so they get the pleasure from hearing a song coming from the streets and a video which seems really realistic which they can probably relate to.